Dozens of former Republican and Democratic officials announced on Wednesday a new national political third party to appeal to millions of voters they say are dismayed with what they see as America's dysfunctional two-party system:
Former Republicans and Democrats form new third U.S. political party | Reuters
From the article:
"The new party, called Forward and whose creation was first reported by Reuters, will initially be co-chaired by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and Christine Todd Whitman, the former Republican governor of New Jersey. They hope the party will become a viable alternative to the Republican and Democratic parties that dominate U.S. politics, founding members told Reuters."
"...The new party is being formed by a merger of three political groups that have emerged in recent years as a reaction to America's increasingly polarized and gridlocked political system. The leaders cited a Gallup poll last year showing a record two-thirds of Americans believe a third party is needed."
"The merger involves the Renew America Movement, formed in 2021 by dozens of former officials in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Donald Trump; the Forward Party, founded by Yang, who left the Democratic Party in 2021 and became an independent; and the Serve America Movement, a group of Democrats, Republicans and independents whose executive director is former Republican congressman David Jolly."
"Two pillars of the new party's platform are to "reinvigorate a fair, flourishing economy" and to "give Americans more choices in elections, more confidence in a government that works, and more say in our future."
"...Another person involved in the creation of Forward, Miles Taylor - a former Homeland Security official in the Trump administration - said the idea was to give voters "a viable, credible national third party." Taylor acknowledged that third parties had failed in the past, but said: "The fundamentals have changed. When other third party movements have emerged in the past it’s largely been inside a system where the American people aren’t asking for an alternative. The difference here is we are seeing an historic number of Americans saying they want one."
As noted by the Reuters article, third parties don't have a good track record. But I say, bring it on. It can't be any worse than the two parties we have going right now.
One thing I have read that the party founders favor is ranked choice voting for primaries, which I think would be a good idea.
By now, everyone here must know I believe that solutions lie to the left of the Democratic Party, so I don't see a Middle Party platform helping us out of this mess. However, if they support maintaining a democratic system, that would be a good thing. I would hope that this new party would support ranked choice voting, which would eliminate a roadblock against new parties. That would be a good outcome. If the new party becomes viable, perhaps the more progressive part of the Democrats could split off and that would be a good thing, not having to please the Pelosi's and the Schumer's.
ReplyDeleteRIght now, we have the 82 year old Speaker of the House planning a trip to Taiwan, poking the Dragon as Hillary Clinton previously poked the Bear. There has to emerge somewhere a cautious and common sense alternative to these two parties full of hot shots exposing their citizens to peril.
We need RCV in the general election for third parties to thrive. I'm glad they are at least talking about it.
DeleteI don't see that Pelosi needs to stop in Taiwan on her Asia trip. On the other hand, I don't see that the Chinese government needs to see it as a mortal affront if she does. Prickly and sensitive seems to be their foreign policy, everyone has to walk on eggshells to avoid upsetting them.
DeleteThis seems to me to be another Yang public relations event. It is more about words than substance. Count me skeptical about Yang and third party.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Yang has a track record of getting the public's attention. And, of course, we know another guy that has always been more about words than substance by the name of Trump who became very accomplished at getting the public's attention.
Left, right, or center, the only party that makes sense to me is one that addresses problems at the root. Repubs hate welfare but don't pay workers enough to live on. Dems subsidize poor wages and maintaining ever more bureaucracies to sustain the subsidies. So: pass a law that eliminates most welfare in 10 years and force most biz in that time to raise floor wages to a liveable standard.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to think Forward is forward thinking like that, but sounds pretty status quo to me.
The Forward Party is a coalition with Yang, Christie Todd Whitman, and another guy I hadn't heard of. It sorta sounded from their WaPo editorial that they were hoping to get existing elected officials to flip Forward. That would be an extremely smart move, because it gives the party some known entities. It might also be a refuge for anti Trump Repubs and disaffected Dems: Calling Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, Joe Manchin, and Lisa Murkowski ...
Oh, hey! Here's an idea, Republicans!
DeleteA Chick-fil-A in North Carolina advertised:
“We are looking for volunteers for our new Drive Thru Express! Earn 5 free entrees per shift (1 hr) worked. Message us for details.”
Chick-fil-A HQ shut it down, but don't think the gears aren't turning at Wal-Mart and other chains. They could bus in people from those tent cities Trump wants to build outside city limits to get rid of the homeless people. Give em a swag bag of stuff about to expire, a slice of greasy pizza, and send them back to the outer darkness after a few hours. There's your latest dystopian novel.
If any "volunteer", they should wear t-shirts saying "working for sandwiches".
DeleteBeing poor in America is something to feel deep shame about. When confronted with poverty (or somebody wearing a "working for sandwiches" shirt) we turn away relieved that we haven't sunk that low yet and anxious that we might.
DeleteBut there's no pity in our response. The national mindset is to heap all kinds of assumptions on the poor--stupid, lazy, immoral, and incapable of making rational decisions.
At most, we set up a "program" for them that requires they pee in cups, report in monthly, and basically treat them like criminals on parole.
All of this keeps labor in line and frightened enough to work for peanuts. Maybe it's changing a bit with this recent flutter of unionization efforts. People got a lot of free pandemic money and some workers who were laid off realized what it was like not to feel overworked, stressed, and underpaid.
But the Michigan Legislature has done a good job undercutting labor with employment at will and right to work laws that make that organizing harder.
Meantime, progressives who used to be concerned about fixing the system are off worrying about trigger warnings and safe spaces and developing awareness about microaggressions and making sure everybody gets the right to use their preferred pronouns.
So there's my rant for the day.
Let's found our own party, Jean.
DeleteYah, I'll make some coffee and run out for cookies, you go get some cardboard and sharpies for signs.
DeleteWe have a primary coming up on Tuesday. Except for the ballot issues and the local yokels, not sure why I am bothering.
The last new party to succeed was the GOP, and that was prior to the Civil War. It succeeded because of a confluence of several factors:
ReplyDelete* It filled a gap: neither existing major party (Democrats and Whigs) was avowedly abolitionist
* Its founding coincided with a change in the electorate, at least in the North: abolitionism, which in prior decades was a marginal view associated mostly with radicals and cranks, was becoming a mainstream view for millions in the North.
* It found leaders - Lincoln, Seward, Taft, others - who were able to rise to the occasion and galvanize support
Are Yang and Christine Todd Whitman able to rise to this occasion? I'm skeptical, but will be watching with interest.
What is the party's galvanizing issue? The two options on the table would seem to be climate change and abortion. Abortion isn't really "gapped out"; the two major parties already has that one covered at both ends of the ideological spectrum (but maybe there is a gap in the middle?) Climate change could be that galvanizing issue. But we don't know yet what Forward is going to actually stand for.
The Reuters article suggests that Democrats are freaked out that this will siphon off Democratic voters. I'd think Republicans should be similarly (or more) freaked out; the GOP is way too much like the Know Nothing Party for my comfort.
I wonder if non Trumpers in the GOP are reluctant to be the ones to leave. While it seems clear that the base is increasingly rural xenophobic militant Christian culture warriors (vs truly conservative or right wing), maybe Republicans feel that this is still *their* party and things will go back to normal when Trump exits the stage. That's the only way I can explain why otherwise intelligent Republicans would cling to a party that is in disarray.
DeleteThis is frpm Wikipedia :
Delete"The Forward Party claims that it will endorse candidates of both major parties in the 2022 elections who support its policies.[18] Yang states that the Forward Party will not serve a spoiler because it will endorse any Democrats and Republicans who support the party's platform. The Forward Party website suggests that candidates affiliated with the Forward Party will likely run as a member of one of the two major parties.[19]"
"Yang stated that the Forward Party is not interested in running a candidate for president, but is focused on trying to decrease partisan gridlock within Congress and state legislatures.[16] The Forward Party has stated it may hold its own primary process to nominate a candidate prior to the 2024 United States presidential election.[20] The party's initial team includes former congressional candidate Blair Walsingham and attorney Jeff Kurzon.[21]"
"I wonder if non Trumpers in the GOP are reluctant to be the ones to leave... maybe Republicans feel that this is still *their* party and things will go back to normal when Trump exits the stage. "
DeleteConservatives may leave if a compelling alternative is presented. What does Forward actually stand for? Nobody knows. Jim McCrea pushed out a column in which Paul Waldman described Forward as "vaporware ". That seems a good metaphor.
I only know what the three founders wrote about in the WaPo, which sounded like middle-of-the-road-ism to me. The galvanizing issue is anti-extremism on both left and right, from what I can tell. Easy to dismiss it with cute turns of phrase "vaporware"). And we all need to be skeptical of third parties and blah blah caveat blah.
DeleteBut we're looking down the barrel of Trump minion victories this fall and a likely return of Trump (or worse) in 2024.
So I'm happy to encourage alternatives to the GOP if they are unable to cut themselves loose from the white power evangelical berserkers running things.